Homecoming
by Ankh-Ascendant
Summary: The story of Inu no Taisho and Sesshoumaru's first meeting when Sesshoumaru's mother left him there, from Inu no Taisho's perspective. No lemon, but rated for highly inappropriate incest shouta suggestions.


_TITLE: Homecoming  
CHAPTER: oneshot  
AUTHOR: Ankh Ascendant ( setosgirl0 / neferseti0 )  
DATE: 9-29-09  
FANDOM: Inuyasha  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Inuyasha, or make any money from it.  
PAIRINGS: Inu no Taisho/Sesshoumaru  
TYPE: Romance  
RATING: PG-14  
WARNINGS: shouta  
OCs: none  
BETA: none  
WORDS: 2778  
SUMMARY: The story of Inu no Taisho and Sesshoumaru's first meeting, from InT's perspective.  
NOTES: The prompt ( _/?p=373_ ) this was written for was "eternal connection". This is also prequel to "_Home in Memory_", "_Home in Body_", and "_Home in Mind_", which are mostly inappropriate stories, be warned._

* * *

_Homecoming_

The first time I saw you, I knew that my life had changed. Nothing reacted to the shifting of fate, not a single star fell from the crowded sky, nor the tiniest of cracks open in the earth, nor the clouds beneath our feet swallow either one of us. Not even did you let go your mother's hand, or your so-large golden eyes close for even a moment. Yet, without fanfare or celebration, it happened, irrevocable and irresistible.

In that moment I was lost.

"Do you want him?" she asked, and I could not even take my eyes from you to say that yes, I did... My lips were dry and I think I might have licked them; I know I heard her girlish giggle at something. It could not bother me then.

You must have been a century old, because I had not seen her in at least that long... I had missed a century of your life, not even knowing you existed. I was not sure whether to curse that fact or bless the luck that brought you finally into my home. Fate could be forgiven for keeping you from me so long, if it would let you stay now...

"Do you?" The voice of my one-time consort, your mother, was as amused as ever. "I see that you don't seem to have an heir around at the moment, and," she gave a put-upon sigh, "I really haven't the time to take care of a little child."

Her time was better spent playing with humans and toying with men, I knew. Somehow, she failed to appreciate such a perfect creature, even while it grasped her hand. But her loss would only be my gain - if she had meant to take you, I know not what I might have done to stop her. I simply could not let such a moment disappear...

"Yes." I did not bother to play with her, to try to be as coy as she may have appreciated. I could not take the chance that she would change her fickle mind and take you away with her, or... my mind shied from the idea of her disposing of an unwanted child in a less savory manner. I knew she was capable of such a thing... even with you, though? Surely some divine force would stay her hand before she could cause harm to a soul that glowed like yours. But still, that was a chance I would not take. "I do. For how long?"

Her hand made an absent gesture in the air, and I could see she did not know... Hopefully, I thought, it would be indefinitely.

"Does he have a name?" I would not put a century of namelessness past her, or such an arbitrary mind changing it irregularly.

"Sesshoumaru." Her hand settled in your hair, and I followed it. You were still looking up at me expectantly, uncertain, but I saw and smelt and sensed no fear in you. I was pleased... I would never have condemned you for it, but I could not bear for you to fear me.

Sesshoumaru... The reaper, the destroyer. Not the name I would have given you. To me, you would have been Enmanmaru... No, Zenbimaru, my perfect son...

"He can't hunt on his own yet." Her claws stroked your hair, and I am sure my fingers twitched to take that duty away from her. I could see her touch sullying the light of perfection within you. No, not sullying, she could not dim it or change your soul on her own... but she was not worthy to touch it, regardless.

"Can he speak?" You had only stayed there, watching me, holding your mother's hand and then her clothes as though you were afraid she would disappear. Or as though you knew she would.

"Oh yes." She waved her hand again as though the question was such a silly fly to bother her. "He can. He's a quiet one, though, luckily. He won't bother you."

I looked to you again. So young you were then, a century to one of your innate power being as maybe three years to a human child. Even so young, your body showed such beauty. Such fair skin... It was easy to see from your marking that you were our child. Your cheeks bore the same double stripes as me, but smooth like your mother's, and the same pink color. The moon you bore between your brows... I have always found that to give a touch of the ethereal to the members of our race who bore it. It makes you seem not a creature of this world at all; it is a mark of Heaven.

I nodded one last time to her to seal this deal. We would trade - she would have her freedom from her responsibilities, and I... would get you.

She wanted to lie with me that night; I obliged her, of course. I could not begrudge her anything when she had first brought you into this world, and finally delivered you to me. It was not, however, her nubile body on which my mind dwelt during the act. Her expressive face and soft figure, that I had found so pleasing so recently, and her childish attitude toward life that I had mistaken for youthfulness and life I now knew to be pale imitations. When I imagined I saw Life within her, she had been the most desirable creature I knew... Perhaps she would still be, to others, but not I. I had seen you, and I could see the pure essence of Life that you were, and I could never be satisfied with her again. So in my gratitude, I pleasured her for much of the night, but in my mind's eye I saw only you, the one I truly ached to touch.

In the morning, she had gone.

I feared she might have taken you with her after all, but you were still in the room you had been given, curled into a small ball on a mattress, hidden mostly under your fur. I could not resist touching your cheek... it was as soft as I had imagined it would be. The texture of the delicate pink stripes was just subtly different from the rest of your cheek, just a touch softer still.

You woke as my fingers caressed your cheek, and blinked up at me, startled but without fear. I would have smiled if I had not been so caught in your eyes. Could the eyes of a pup of barely a century be so deep? What life had you already seen?

"Where's mama?"

I had not heard your voice before. It was the high voice of a child, as I had known it would be, but with a certain mellow quality I had not expected... a pensive, waiting quality. In a voice? Yes, even your voice spoke of a lofty soul from which people like your mother could learn.

"Your mother has gone."

You tugged your fur down over your shoulder, watching me. You didn't seem very surprised. Knowing as much as I did about her, I could only assume she made a habit of disappearing whenever it was convenient. Had she given you to others before, for a day or a year or a decade, until it suited her to return for you again? This would be the last time; she would not be getting you back from me.

"Where?"

"I know not." I let my fingers drift through your hair, and you leaned trustingly into it, though you did not know me at all. I could have meant to harm you, yet you let me pet you and did not seem even wary. "I assume she has gone home."

"For how long?"

"Possibly forever. You are to stay with me now."

Finally you sat up, and anger gathered over your face like a sudden thunderstorm of emotion from a clear blue sky. Truly your mother's son. "Mama!" you demanded.

"Your mother has left you here. I am your father, and I will care for you."

Even a scowl looked good on your child's face. "Mama!" you demanded again, and then you were gone. I have to admit to being surprised at your speed. Almost all youkai are fast, but you were very fast, and that was not a talent I had ever seen your mother display. It turned out that you were in fact nearly a match for me. I followed you outside, and you were already in your true form, a shining, gangly pup that reached nearly to my shoulder in that form, already jumping down toward the humans' world, following her scent.

I was hard pressed not to lose you in the air... and I must also admit to being almost willing to let you go. It is not my wont to chase after anyone, and such a show of disrespect sat poorly with me. I could not, however. I knew I would regret it if I lost you.

I did lose you for a moment on my way through the clouds, and when I found you again you had torn swaths through several of the fields around a small village without seeming to notice. Your focus on her scent was admirable, but I believed I could see panic in the quick jerks of your head and your stiff tail.

That focus was also dangerous, however, for the humans had been alerted, and you did not seem to notice that either. One man in particular who thought himself brave ran toward you with a large knife and a cry of "Monster!". I threw him against a tree before he reached you, but it did startle you back into your human form. I saw his expression of surprise, and I wonder if he regretted when he saw how young you were, or if he had time to before you ripped his throat out with your teeth.

But it had distracted you, and paused you in your mad search, and that was to me good news. I grabbed you in one arm and took to the air, toward home, despite your squirming and protests that you wanted the woman who had left.

"Your mother has gone." It was not the kindest thing to say, but you needed to swiftly and completely forget her... I could not for long stand constant talk and reminder of her when I had you now.

"No, mama..." You continued to struggle weakly in my arm as we passed through the clouds.

"I am your father, and I will care for you from now on." I admit I may have sounded impatient as I repeated it. Truly more of my annoyance was directed at her, for this was her responsibility; I suppose she simply did not care what leaving without a word of goodbye would do to you, and now it was for me to deal with.

You sniffed as you buried your face in my fur, and I thought that you might weep, for the mother who had abandoned you and the change in your young life... but you did not. You only finally ceased to fight me and let me carry you without protest, I thought perhaps finally resigned to this fate.

To this day, I have not seen tears come to your eyes. I believe that you would be a greater person if they did, if your emotions could be found and tapped and completely reawakened. I believe then you would be whole.

But, when I saw that you did not cry, I believe I understood. I held you safe in my arms, not knowing if you knew if you were safe or saw me only as your jailer, and considered the truth as we reentered my castle, the home I would now share with you. I saw then that you were formed by your mother; your soul was your own but its expression was hers, and always had been, and may always be. The quiet personality was a ploy to avoid the possibility of a casual word incurring her wrath. The lack of tears, likewise, because a crying child could be an annoyance to her fickle temper, and you had learned not to take that chance. The mature sound in your voice was distance, from your own emotions, because you had spent your young life watching wild emotions run rampant and learned not to trust them. The pensive quality because with the mind of a young child but the experience of a century you had learned to stand back and judge the sway and power of her moods and react accordingly. Perhaps some of these qualities might serve you well... others were damage she had wrought on your beautiful soul.

I could have cursed her and her inability to see beyond the end of her nose to the ripples her actions made in you, yet she had brought you to me. How could I be angry with her for anything? Any damage she had wrought, I would unmake, and gladly, and perhaps someday thank her for the opportunity.

I was not entirely certain, when it came down to it, what I would do with you. How many centuries had it been since any child had roamed my home? I did not know the peculiarities of your personality or your likes and hates, nor your favorite pastimes or manners of misbehavior. For all that, after you stopped demanding your mother and I could let you on your own - regretfully, for I did like you in my arms, but I did not want to make you fuss - you were in fact a worthwhile diversion from my long and lazy day. I noted with particular amusement how your seeming of clothing would change with your mood, and sometimes slip your mind altogether and become a shapeless mass that might only vaguely have been cloth. Such an innocent quirk I found strangely endearing.

Any awkwardness during the day was made up for tenfold when I found you growing tired and finally took you to bed, early that night. You did not seem to mind that I brought you to my bed rather than setting you in a room of your own, nor were you the least wary or uncertain of me. Each time that day, and even thereafter, that you showed such innocent trust for me, a stranger, it struck me anew that you were a rare and precious creature, worthy of much I could give. Rather than fearing, you seemed to welcome the affection as I finally let my fingers caress your silky hair as they had ached to do, and held you to my chest. Your clothes had faded from your consciousness as you grew more tired, and had become a simple white robe, and you did not complain as I let my hand explore the feel of your legs. It amazed me how soft every part of you was. It seemed you could not be real.

You were not a trick or illusion, however. Simply perfect.

You seemed very small, curled in my arms and, yes, snuggled into my chest. Far too small to love in every way... but in time, I knew, I would. I might have centuries to wait, but time and patience I had in abundance, and so long as you were not taken from me, I could wait as long as need be. And you would never be taken from me - I had already vowed myself that much.

Though I could not - yet - be with you in all the ways I desired, I could not resist kissing the moon on your brow, knowing it was a place of pleasure for those of us blessed enough to bear it. The sweet sigh that escaped you in your sleep seemed to move over my heart itself. Had your mother really, truly, given you up? For what, some paltry freedom? She knew not what she had lost. There are things in this world worth more than the ability to wander as one will and play as one might.

Love is one such thing, and she had given it to me. Though I knew with such a shallow bitch for a mother, you could not have learned to love properly, I would teach you, and she might know what she had lost, but it would not matter, for you would be mine in all ways...

In time. That first night, I only held you as you slept the sleep of an innocent child. My innocent child.

_~end~_


End file.
